


Mr Sexual Awakening

by earthyhannah



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 02:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13514931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthyhannah/pseuds/earthyhannah
Summary: At Laurent's coronation celebrations, an old friend appears.





	Mr Sexual Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from simon vs the homo sapiens agenda, where blue and simon talk about how they first knew they were gay. this is inspired a little bit by that, but i also just like jealous damen and cute teasing.  
> any feedback is very welcome! i'm @patranprincesss on twitter :)

Damen was teasing Laurent gently about the dent in his hair left by his new crown, when he saw Laurent glance over his shoulder and stiffen slightly. 

Damen glanced in the same direction. “What is it? Makedon holding a pitcher of griva?” 

Laurent bowed his head in an effort to not be noticed by whoever was across the room, which was a ridiculous move considering the concoction of gold and jewels on his head, and his golden outfit. People had been noticing him all day. “No, it’s – something embarrassing.” Laurent sighed and took another quick look over Damen’s shoulder. 

Damen smiled down at him, feeling the fondness gather in his heart. Laurent got embarrassed so rarely that Damen couldn’t help but savour his reactions when he did; the slightly flushed cheeks, the averted eyes, and the glares at anyone who found it remotely amusing. Any new emotion was precious. “If we’re to rule two kingdoms together I rather think we should be open with our emotions with each other,” Damen suggested. “Especially seeing as concealment has gone so well for us in the past.” 

Laurent looked at him, half exasperated, half fond, then sighed in resignation. “Alright. The embarrassing thing is that I’d forgotten a Kemptian delegation would be coming for the coronation.” 

“And?” Damen prompted. “It doesn’t seem as if that’s a large faux pas.” 

Laurent looked back at Damen, the embarrassment fading from his eyes. “And, the Kemptian delegation includes Lord Marco, who was one of Auguste’s best friends.” He carefully looked into Damen’s eyes for his reaction. 

Damen had the urge to run from the palace and escape into the foothills of Vask. While he and Laurent had reconciled the wrongdoings they’d both done to each other, it often made him forget that it was not the case for the majority of the Veretian and Akielon populations, let alone those who had been friends with Auguste. Damen thought of Laurent’s fragile new kingdom, the kingdom that was barely united in itself, let alone with surrounding countries, and of Laurent making the decision between the comfort of his lover and the future of his nation. A kingdom or this. 

“Would you like me to leave?” he asked gently. “I don’t want to make this uncomfortable for you.” 

Laurent’s expression splintered into confusion. “What? No, of course not.” He reached for Damen’s hand. “I realise I should’ve warned you that he was coming, but I have no intention of hiding you away because of the past. The futures of Vere and Akielos are united, and I intend to make that very clear.” His hand slid up Damen’s wrist to the golden cuff, and Damen felt the warmth of his hand even through the metal. Laurent smiled in that soft way he usually reserved for quiet mornings together in bed, and Damen’s heart was full. 

Laurent took a deep breath as if to ready himself. “Having said that, Lord Marco is coming this way.”

Damen turned to meet the eyes of the man who was likely to despise him, and felt Laurent’s hand fall away from his wrist. 

The man approaching wore the traditional flowing Kemptian robes in red, outlined with gold. He had dark brown skin, and braided black hair that fell over his shoulder. He seemed to be in his early thirties, just as Auguste would have been, had he – Damen stopped that thought in its tracks. As Marco drew closer, Damen realised he was startlingly handsome. 

Marco stopped in front of Laurent and gave a deep bow. When he straightened, his chiselled face was serious. “Your Majesty. May I offer my congratulations on the event of your coronation.” 

Laurent’s flush had returned. “Thank you, Lord Marco. It is a pleasure to see you again after so long,” he answered, mirroring Marco’s serious demeanour. 

They regarded each other for a moment longer, in which Damen felt the urge to cough, just to break the silence. 

Marco’s expression slipped slightly, and Damen realised he was repressing laughter when Marco broke out into a wide grin. His teeth were a brilliant white. 

“I’m sorry, Laurent, but I can’t maintain decorum when I’ve known you since you were in swaddling clothes,” he exclaimed, and swept Laurent up into a hug that took him off his feet. 

Laurent was still laughing when Marco set him back on the ground, and used one hand to straighten his crown which had been dislodged by Marco’s enthusiastic embrace. “It’s alright, Marco. I was also finding it rather difficult.” 

Marco took hold of Laurent’s shoulders again, as if to get a better look at him, and Laurent shrunk under the force of his gaze. Damen saw the flush in his cheeks was brighter than ever. “I really can’t believe how grown up you are, Laurent,” he said delightedly. “I think the last time I saw you, you were telling me about the faeries you’d found in the bushes under the pavilion.” 

Damen couldn’t help but smile to himself at the thought of a tiny Laurent running around a garden, creating stories about mythical creatures for himself. As if sensing this, Laurent cast a sideways look at Damen and rubbed the back of his neck in an effort to hide his burning face. “I don’t think we need to hear that story again, Marco.” 

Marco smiled fondly down at Laurent. “Alright, I won’t tell it. Only because you’re a king now.” His smile faded slightly and a more serious expression took over his face. “But really, Laurent, I came because I wanted to apologise for assisting you more these past years. After Marlas…” he shook his head and passed a hand over his face. “It was difficult to be in Vere, and the civil war in Kempt only complicated things.” He looked at Laurent, and Damen saw true distress in his face. “Then after everything that came out at the Kingsmeet, I feel –,” 

Laurent reached out and touched Marco’s arm. “Please, Marco, you don’t have to explain,” he said. “It was a difficult time, yes, but I know for certain that the future is brighter.” He turned to Damen and put a hand behind his back in encouragement. “With that in mind, may I introduce you to King Damianos of Akielos?” 

Marco turned to look at Damen, and Damen saw nothing of the smiling man who had hugged and teased Laurent. Marco’s eyes were shrewdly assessing as he regarded Damen, and Damen felt weight of his gaze acutely. He wished he had persuaded Laurent to let him be excused. 

Marco inclined his head politely. “Exalted. You must be pleased to have finally taken your throne.” 

Damen summoned strength by remembering that he was a king and that he could likely beat this man in a duel, and replied equally politely, “I was, yes. The help we received from Vere in achieving my succession was invaluable.” 

Marco narrowed his eyes. “Yes. I was personally rather surprised that such an alliance occurred, considering the past of your two countries, but I have full belief in the future of the alliance.” He turned back to smile at Laurent and clapped him on the shoulder. “And of course the king of Vere has my overwhelming support in any future endeavours.” 

Laurent smiled back at him. “Thank you Marco. That means a great deal to me, and to Damianos.” 

Marco raised an eyebrow at Laurent’s joining of his and Damen’s names, but replied, “I am glad.” He glanced behind him, then said, “I should leave you now. I can see my wife making desperate eyes at me to retire. She’s six months pregnant, but still insisted on making the journey here.” 

Laurent nodded. “It would be a pleasure to meet her later. Your delegation is staying for the rest of the festivities?” 

“Of course! I wouldn’t want to miss any of it,” Marco said. He reached out to give Laurent a last hug. “I will catch up with you tomorrow.” He gave Damen a cursory, cold nod, and departed. 

Damen let out a breath he hadn’t know he had been holding, and Laurent looked at him with a surprising amount of apprehension. Before Damen could express his confusing array of emotions, a Veretian courtier requested Laurent’s attention, and Damen was accosted by the Kyros of Ellium. They didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the night. 

*** 

Damen lay in bed waiting for Laurent to be finished with his bath. He was attempting to untangle the interaction with Marco in his mind. It was clear that Marco and Laurent had been close when they were younger, with Marco taking on an older brother role. But Laurent’s awkwardness at seeing him, and the flushes which were usually reserved for Damen when he did something particularly sentimental, or forgot to tie up the shoulder of his chiton, they complicated things. It was also one of Damen’s biggest regrets that he hadn’t had the opportunity to know the child Laurent had been before Marlas and the crimes of his uncle, and he felt a certain amount of jealousy that Marco had been able to experience Laurent’s childish enthusiasm, as well as guilt over his part played in the events after Marlas. Damen tried to encourage that behaviour in Laurent whenever he could, but it was still not a replacement, and would never be. 

Laurent entered the room clothed in his usual nighttime wear, a long white shirt. The moon was full, and the light from the balcony bathed Laurent in an ethereal glow. Damen watched him tidy up some correspondence on the desk, and marvelled at his highlighted cheekbones, and the absentminded way Laurent pushed his hair back over his shoulder as he bent down. 

Finally, Laurent came towards the bed, and raised the covers to get in. Damen stretched out his arm in a silent question, and as Laurent lay down he rested his head on Damen’s shoulder, and turned his body into Damen’s. He let out a small noise of contentment. 

Damen was loath to ruin these peaceful moments that he had with Laurent, but his curiosity would not let him keep quiet. He gathered his thoughts for a moment, then asked, “Did you have a crush on Lord Marco?” 

Laurent stiffened immediately. He raised his head to reply indignantly, then saw the light amusement on Damen’s face and dropped his head back down in resignation. “When I was younger, yes,” he admitted quietly. 

Damen celebrated internally for a moment that he could recognise these emotions in Laurent. He turned over to face Laurent and propped his head up on his hand. Laurent glared at his expression. 

“He seems like a very noble man. Not to mention handsome, with that hair, and the teeth,” Damen said. Laurent gave a small groan and threw an arm over his face. 

“I suppose you’ve always liked well built men then?” Damen teased, and received a small shove on his chest for it. 

Laurent removed his arm from his face and faced Damen. The flush was back on his cheeks, but he looked determined. “I suppose so, yes. But he’s also very intelligent. He changed the economy of Kempt completely when he became the Minister of Finances, and the country has been flourishing ever since.” 

Damen considered that. “If he’s so educated, how did he also build such a physique?” 

Laurent smirked at him with a knowing expression. “Well, he’s also Kempt’s reigning champion…” he paused for effect, “in wrestling.” He mirrored Damen’s position with his head propped in his hand, and waited to gauge Damen’s reaction. 

Damen looked at him. “I see. Will he be competing in the games later this week?” 

Laurent nodded, then said, “I realise Kemptian and Akielon methods of wrestling are slightly different, but I think that gives him a fair chance against you, don’t you agree? You could always persuade him to wrestle in the Akielon style.” 

Damen took his chance to turn the tables and stop Laurent from looking so amused, and lunged forward to tickle him on the ribs. There was a brief interlude of struggle and laughter, which ended with Laurent back in Damen’s arms, both of them breathing hard and smiling.

Damen stared up at the embroidered hangings of their bed above him. He thought for a moment, then said, “When you say Auguste and Marco were best friends, you mean…?” 

Laurent seemed to sense that Damen could not look him in the eyes while talking about this, and spoke to the hangings. “I mean from birth. Relations between Vere and Kempt were agreeable when I was younger, and Marco often spent summers with us. He would always persuade Auguste to bring me along on their rides, even when Auguste didn’t want to.” He shrugged at Damen’s noise of surprise at this admission. “Yes, even Auguste and I annoyed each other sometimes. Like all siblings do.” He took up Damen’s hand which lay on his chest and examined Damen’s knuckles. “I think I was 11 or 12 when I realised I wanted to marry him someday. He was the first person I ever had a crush on, even if it was just boyish infatuation.” 

Damen enjoyed the image of an 11 year old Laurent planning a marriage for a moment. Laurent sighed to himself. “Then civil war broke out in Kempt, my father did not support the queen of Kempt, and everything changed. Auguste didn’t see Marco again before he died.” 

Damen’s chest hurt with the guilt. Laurent rolled off him, then pulled Damen’s head against his chest, laying his head on top of Damen’s. Damen hugged Laurent to him, and in the darkness of his embrace let a tear fall that Laurent could not see. 

Laurent kissed the top of his head. “You know Marco will forgive you, just as I did, just as Vere is beginning to forgive you,” he said quietly. 

Trying not to let emotion distort his voice, Damen said, “I’m not sure I’m deserving of his forgiveness.” 

Laurent immediately pulled back and cupped Damen’s face in his hands, so Damen had nowhere to look but his blue eyes. “Damen. Marco is a good man, he will understand once he hears the entire story.” Laurent kissed his forehead. “In any case, once he comes to know what a ridiculously noble person you are, and how similar to Auguste you are, he’ll have no choice but to be your friend.” 

Damen leaned up and kissed Laurent softly, preferring to let his actions speak for the emotion he felt welling up again. Laurent smiled his private, gentle smile, then leant to blow out the candle on the bedside table. He moved himself back into Damen’s arms, then said, “You should rest, Damen. You’ll need all your strength if you’re going to beat Marco in wrestling.” 

Damen laughed quietly, pulled Laurent to him and let his eyes close.

**Author's Note:**

> second chapter to come soon, where damen and marco wrestle ;) thank you for reading!!


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